UFC 206 Preview

When the main event was taken off of the UFC’s return to Toronto things looked bleak for UFC 206 and the card was already fighting a losing battle.

When it comes to attention the UFC has been getting a lot recently but not a lot of it was directed at UFC 206.

After all, UFC 205 was the first event in New York City and the biggest card in the UFC history while UFC 207 will be the return of Ronda Rousey.

Stuck in between was a rematch between Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title.

It was a good fight but not one that matched the excitement of others that had come around with most ignoring the card altogether.

Then Cormier was hurt and Johnson said that he wanted to wait for his title shot leaving the UFC to figure out what to do with their first fight in what they once called Mecca of MMA in over three years.

The solution was a simple one as they simply moved every fight up but it was a solution that led to a fight that excited even less of the general public.

For the most part, the people that tune in to see the big fights have no idea who Anthony Pettis or Max Holloway are.

Yet that is who headlines the pay-per-view card in Toronto while a number of other fighters that occupy the same spot on the public’s mind, namely no spot, fill out the rest of the card.

For the fringe UFC fans, the names might be familiar but the fight is not something that is going to be the biggest out of all the other action going around in the UFC.

What is interesting about this entire card though is the fact that it is full of some of the best fighters in the promotion even if nobody knows about them.

The card did get some help from New York as cancelled fights from the UFC 205 card made their way to Toronto.

That includes Tim Kennedy who saw his fight with Rashad Evans cancelled due to medical clearance issues.

The fight was moved to Toronto but Evans was once again denied medical clearance leaving Kennedy without a fight.

The UFC gave him Kelvin Gastelum who had missed weight at 205 and was now available for 206.

Both fighters are extremely skilled as Gastelum has all of the potential in the world but has struggled with his weight.

Meanwhile, Kennedy could also be one of the best in the UFC as he has all of the talent but his issues with the UFC and his controversial statements regarding the Reebok deal keep him out of a regular rotation making him a bit of an unknown to many.

Next up will be Cub Swanson who again is one of the most talented fighters in the UFC although he doesn’t seem to translate that talent from the training mat to the fights.

He will take on Doo Ho Choi who seems like the best chance at an Asian fighter winning a UFC title after three straight first-round knockouts to begin his UFC career.

In the co-main event, the trend continues as Donald Cerrone returns to the octagon continuing to be the UFC’s most active fighter after his fight against Gastelum was called off.

He enters the octagon as the fighter who could be the biggest name on the card and one of the most exciting fighters after winning eleven of his last twelve fights.

He takes on and aggressive and very tough Matt Brown in a fight built to earn a bonus.

Pettis and Holloway will serve as the main event with both fighting for an interim title that is essentially just a title shot against Jose Aldo.

Pettis was once the face of the UFC as the lightweight champion with a Wheaties box but he lost that title and is making a run at the featherweight title hoping that this fight will be his chance to be a two-weight class champion.

Holloway sits alongside Tony Ferguson as one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC on a nine-fight win streak and finally getting his chance to fight for a title.

UFC 206 is full of fights and fighters that are not considered the biggest draws in the promotion and yet for the true MMA fans they can see every fight and see a potential fight of the night.

Any of these fights could end early or become a war in the octagon as the match-ups are dreams for most fans that have been watching the UFC.

On the surface, UFC 206 is the card that the promotion forgot in between two of the biggest promotions that the UFC has put on this year.

For the big fans though this is a card that is big because these match-ups could produce some amazing highlights and set the tone for the year to come.